Empress (a Percy Jackson AU)

The Second Flight

Piper and Jason left the Hagia Sophia at a good pace — not so slowly that they made no progress, but not so quickly that they looked sneaky. Annabeth and Percy flanked them with their hands ready to grab the swords strapped to their belts. The city was noisy even as the sun was setting and they were able to have quiet conversations without being overheard.

Piper placed a hand on Jason's cheek. "You make a beautiful woman," she whispered in his ear.

His face turned pinker than the sky above them. "Good thing these garments hide my muscles then."

     "Showoff," Piper said, but she was grinning.

       Though they were not walking side by side, Annabeth and Percy were talking with their eyes. Annabeth could still taste the salt that lingered on her lips after the kiss. Percy could still remember the feeling of her soft curls against his hands. The kiss walked between them as surely as Piper and Jason did — a figure neither of them was ready to acknowledge yet.

Piper found them two rooms at a cheap inn as the stars began to show their faces. Usually, she would stay in a room with Annabeth, but since the latter was dressed as a man and Jason was dressed as a woman, this did not happen. Jason and Piper shared one room, while Percy and Annabeth shared the other.

Annabeth had very mixed feelings about this. On one hand, when she saw Percy, her body seemed to thrill with the memory of their kiss. Yet, that pleasure brought her guilt. Was she moving on too quickly? Were her feelings for Percy a sign of disloyalty towards Luke?

       They ate a meal of stale bread with goat cheese and watered down wine in their room. The food could've been ash for all Annabeth cared because she didn't taste it as it went through her lips. Percy kept missing his mouth when eating, so distracted was he by thoughts.

When they finished eating, Percy cleaned up the wooden side table they ate on. Annabeth stood up and kneeled on the ground, pressing her palms together. "Jesus," she whispered. "Help me find the wisdom and courage to do the right thing. Right now, I cannot even figure out what the right thing is . . . It's never been like this. Please, Jesus, help me find my path in life."

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, trying to find peace in a moment of chaos. She stood up and turned around. Percy was spreading a blanket on the ground.

Annabeth kneeled down beside him. "You don't have to do that tonight," she said.

"Shall I sleep on the side table then?" He asked sardonically.

"No," Annabeth said, "you can sleep on the bed."

Percy's cheeks went red and she felt her own face heat up. "You don't have to make this embarrassing," she snapped. "It's a bed — not a marriage contract."

      "As you say, Wise Girl," Percy said.

       They left a lot of room between them and fell asleep like two birds in separate cages.